By Joseph M. Hanneman and Steve Baker || April 4, 2026
Former Capitol Police officer Shauni Rae Kerkhoff failed a November 6 FBI polygraph test when asked if she placed pipe bombs on Capitol Hill on Jan. 5, 2021, a new defense court filing states.
The polygraph test was administered two days before a Nov. 8 Blaze News article stated Kerkhoff was a forensic match to the hoodie-clad bomb suspect based on gait analysis.
“The FBI polygraph examiner noted Kerkhoff’s ‘very controlled reaction’ to the news of her failing the polygraph and seemingly rehearsed responses to examiner’s questions,” states a motion filed by defense attorneys for Brian Cole Jr.
The motion asked U.S. District Judge Amir Ali for early returns of three defense-witness subpoenas, including Kerkhoff, current Capitol Police officer Daniel Dickert, and forensic podiatrist Michael Nirenberg.
Cole, 31, of Woodbridge, Va., faces trial on two explosives-related charges. He pleaded not guilty in a January court appearance. He was arrested Dec. 4 after a “red team” of outside law enforcement officers identified him from old evidence in the case.
“Mr. Cole maintains his innocence and preserves the right to present at trial that Ms. Kerkhoff—not Mr. Cole—placed the pipe bombs.”
The U.S. Department of Justice filed for a motion to show cause why Cole’s defense attorneys should not be held in contempt for filing the subpoenas on the public case docket.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Jones said the defense’s goal was to “publicly identify, harass, and intimidate potential witnesses in this case.”
Jones said the information in the subpoenas was designated as “sensitive” under the judge’s evidentiary protective order.
“The filing then—astonishingly—included the witness’ home address, the witness’ current and former employer, and the name and employment of the witness’ significant other,” Jones wrote.
Removed from docket
After the kerfuffle, the motion was removed from the docket, then re-filed under seal. Cole’s defense attorneys agreed that home addresses should be redacted, but they argued in favor of the motion and subpoenas being unsealed by Judge Ali because they do not meet the definition as “sensitive” material.
Cole’s defense team subpoenaed a video shown to the FBI that purportedly shows Kerkhoff playing with her puppies during the time the pipe bombs were placed on Jan. 5. Or at least her voice can be heard in the background, the defense motion states.
The FBI named Kerkhoff a person of interest in the pipe bomb case on Nov. 7, 2025, and opened an investigation of her. That was one day before Blaze published its investigation, including results of a gait analysis done on Kerkhoff by a senior member of the U.S. intelligence community.
The disclosure that Kerkhoff was an official FBI person of interest was a major revelation, since the FBI has refused to comment on whether she was ever a suspect or questioned in connection with the pipe bombs.
What appeared to be federal agents were at Kerkhoff’s residence in Alexandria, Va., the evening of Nov. 7. The FBI would not comment if agents were searching the home that Kerkhoff shares with Dickert.
“We are currently working to clear her.”
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky) previously told Veritas Regnat that former FBI Deputy Director and current podcaster Dan Bongino told him on Nov. 12 that Kerkhoff was “cooperating” with FBI investigators.
“We are currently working to clear her,” Bongino said, according to Massie.
The FBI has not commented on Kerkhoff’s status as a person of interest, nor what alleged evidence led to her being “cleared” in the case. The story about a video allegedly showing Kerkhoff playing with puppies was leaked to CBS News. However, no video has surfaced that backs up Kerkhoff’s alleged alibi.
Kerkhoff story ‘debunked?’
Mainstream media including the New York Times have claimed Kerkhoff was cleared and any suggestion she was the bomber was debunked. None of the outlets have posted video or other evidence proving Kerkhoff’s whereabouts between 7 and 9 p.m. on Jan. 5, 2021.
Massie said Bongino told him he looked forward to writing a personal check to finance a defamation lawsuit against Blaze Media on behalf of Kerkhoff.
“Former Capitol Hill police officer / current CIA employee Kerkhoff was a person of interest & failed a lie detector test, before the famous Blaze article was published,” Massie wrote on X. “Looks like defamation suits FBI DD Bongino told me he would personally finance against reporters are a bust.”
According to the defense motion, the FBI took a number of investigative steps in early November to discern if Kerkhoff could be the pipe bomber.
“Throughout November 2025, the FBI interviewed Ms. Kerkhoff’s co-workers at the Capitol Police, her neighbors, surveilled her without her knowledge, requested her employment records from the CIA, and sent surveillance footage of her walking to a podiatrist, likely for a gait analysis,” the motion stated.
Defense attorneys are also seeking a subpoena of Dr. Michael Nirenberg of Crown Point, Ind., an expert on how people walk.
The subpoena seeks “documents and communications concerning any foot gait analysis performed of Ms. Kerkhoff; and documents and communications concerning any other foot gait analysis performed related to the January 5-6 pipe-bomb investigation.”
Nirenberg’s work was featured in Part III of Blaze Media’s series on the arrest and prosecution of Brian Cole. •